Giveaways

I have recently started looking at the hair blogs (there are a bunch of them out there) to find new ways to do A1's hair. I will start posting new hair do's as I do them, but for today I want to plug them many giveaways that they have going on. I just check the following blogs every couple of days to look for what they have going on:

www.shedoeshair.blogspot.com
www.hairandshare.blogspot.com (right now they are giving away a flat iron worth $200!)
www.pigsandponies.blogspot.com
www.girlydohairstyles.blogspot.com
www.cute2tryhairdos.blogspot.com
www.babesinhairland.blogspot.com
www.ohsogirly.blogspot.com


And there are many more! I love finding new ways to do A1's hair - it's my creative outlet.

A1 Gives In To Environmental Propaganda

I recently read Dr. Seuss' The Lorax to A1 and A2 during reading time. I love all the made-up words that Dr. Seuss uses in his books, and A1 loves the fun pictures and trying to figure out what a Bar-ba-loot is, and A2 just loves to sit with us and read. I also love reading environmentalist editorials dressed up as children's literature ("It makes me laugh," my sister told me a few weeks ago, and I have to agree).

I later found A1 sharing the story with her bear.And then I discovered that she had internalized the message: to save the environment, she now rides from room to room in our apartment on her bike, instead of using a gas-guzzler, like her feet.

My daughter: saving the environment one room at a time!

Happy Easter!

I know this is extremely late, but Cinco de Mayo makes me think of Easter and why I haven't posted pictures of our camping trip yet (it's because I'm a procrastinator - why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?). But I kicked myself in the pants and put myself in gear today (I got all the shopping done and cleaned the apartment!), and my drive to accomplish hasn't quite worn off yet (don't worry, it'll pass before too long), so I thought I'd share a little Easter joy during May.

Every Easter we go camping with my extended family (and I do mean extended - I believe there were more than 75 people there this year). Here's our small part of the clan at the BIG family dinner:

As R and I lived in New York for the past four years, we haven't been able to join the family for these annual camping trips, and our kids have never been camping at all. R, unfortunately, had to work over the Easter weekend, but that didn't deter me from taking A1 and A2 on their first camping trip. They had a great time, relaxing...

...and playing (A1 and her cousin Carmen riding Carmen's four-wheeler)...

...and just generally camping.

And the most anticipated tradition of the annual camping trip is, of course, the Easter Egg Hunt. It's nice to have little kids to share the joy with again (it was weird to do back when all of us were teenagers, with no little ones to actually find the magic of the Easter Bunny). A1 adored finding the hidden eggs, searching high and low to find them all...

...and A2 only needed a little lift to get into the action (thanks, Uncle Ryan).

Overall it was a great camping trip, and I look forward to doing it again next year. I just hope R can join us for the memories!